


Cool Heroes Don't Look at Explosions

by I_llbedammned



Category: Black Widow (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Cats, F/M, Herding Cats, Mission Fic, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_llbedammned/pseuds/I_llbedammned
Summary: Bucky Barnes starts off just trying to rescue his cat when he runs across Natasha Romanov as she is likewise doing the same for her cat.  However things quickly turn from adorable to dangerous their cats stumble upon a great and terrible secret hidden in the mountains.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov
Kudos: 21
Collections: BuckyNat Secret Santa 2019





	Cool Heroes Don't Look at Explosions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nocek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocek/gifts).



“Come back here!” came a loud noise as with a crash a white cat ran straight through the screen door. Fast behind them came a man who would strike terror into most people- The Winter Soldier himself, albeit if he was intending to be on a mission he likely would have went with something a little bit more combat oriented than a black and red flannel and jeans. As it was he was having a time pulling on his boots while trying to catch a very determined white cat who took it upon themselves to begin their ascent up a telephone pole.

Curses mumbled in Russian emerged from Bucky’s mouth as he stared up at his companion before he switched gears, clicking and hissing gently to try and coax the animal down.

“Come on Alpine, Come back down.” He crooned, only to be met with a rough “Mow” as Alpine briefly turned around to look at him before continuing on his way.

With a dexterity that is usually reserved for super spies the cat wound his way through trees, always one step ahead of Bucky Barnes. It wasn’t his fault but the cat chose to go through the most narrow passages that were covered with thorns. Every. Time. At least no one was around to see him chasing helplessly after a cat.

A rustle in the bushes and he tensed up. This mountain was pretty abandoned, at least in the area he chose to live in. He reached for the gun at his hip, keeping his eyes on the cat and following. Assassins didn’t care if you just wanted to catch your pet.

Much to his surprise he heard a very familiar voice crooning, “Come on, Liho. You don’t even like the snow.” A moment later a black cat came dashing through the bushes to collide with Alpine. Fast behind followed Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow dressed in a white sweater and black leather leggings, looking just about as pleased as Bucky was to be out in the snow at the moment. His muscles relaxed and he took his hand off his weapon. If she wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t have seen her so blatantly.

Rather than exchanging pleasantries, Bucky instead took the opportunity to lunge for Alpine while he was knocked down. Alas, the cat was a little too quick and instead he nose-dived into the snow.  
“That kind of day for you too?” Natasha laughed, extending a hand to him to help him up. Up the sleeves of her fluffy sweater he noticed that there were still lock picks and stun darts and he grinned. Even a pet emergency could leave you vulnerable and there were few people who could understand that.

“The damn cat won’t stop moving.” He replied lightly as they both stalked their respective pets.

Natasha nodded, her red hair failing down past her shoulders as she did so, “Much the same with Liho. She woke up this morning and decided to explore.”

As if signaled by their talks, both cats raced each other to the edge of a hill.

“Great,” grumbled Bucky, “They’re teaming up against us.”

“The monsters. How could they?” dryly replied the Black Widow, watching with bemused eyes as the cats slid gracelessly down a hill in a fur-based snowball.

The sound of metal grinding against metal made them both freeze, smiles stuck halfway on their faces. No one should be out here, even the loggers had shut down for the season. Natasha threw herself to the ground as Bucky hid behind a tree. With a well-practiced grace she made her way wordlessly forward.

The Winter Soldier quirked an eyebrow to ask if it was okay to move forward and she gave him the most subtle of nods before turning her attention back to the situation over the hill. Taking a similar position on the ground, he lay next to her among the snow and brush. Down the hill, there was a factory of some sort. They scanned around. Soldiers, army transport trucks, chainlink fence topped with barbed wire- all things they were intimately familiar with yet were not fully prepared to see out here. “Red Skull,” Natasha muttered, pointing her chin towards a sign written in German on the side of the building, “Not sure what it’s for, but that’s his signature.”

“Have I mentioned how much I really hate Nazis?” Bucky replied, feeling a pre-emptive headache begin to form at the thought of how much work this was going to be.

That is if their cats didn’t blow their cover. Heedless of their deadly predicament, the two animals had recovered from their tumble and were now dashing towards the fence.

“Gotta stop them. If they are spotted, people will know someone is nearby,” Natasha got to a crouch and began her descent down the hill without another word, dashing like a shadow after the cats.

“I would prefer not shoot my way out of my problems today. That’ll be a lot of wetwork,” Bucky sighed, following suit. Not that he couldn’t, but he was honestly having a relaxing vacation other than this incident. It definitely was not because he didn’t want Natasha or the cats to get hurt because soldiers didn’t care about things like that.

There was a hissed curse in Russian as he reached the bottom of hill and the sound of metal being clipped. “What now?” he asked, knowing the answer even before he said it.

“The cats found the one gap in the fence.” She responded, her metal snips working away quickly to widen the hole big enough for her to fit through.

“Gotta stop teaching them the tools of the trade,” He responded, glad that the fence was not electrified.

“Now you tell me,” she jibed, as she slid her way in. Lacking her grace, Bucky instead used his metal arm to tear the hole a bit wider. He didn’t have any intention of leaving this base untouched so the need for stealth was pretty much moot in his eyes.

Luck, for the first time of the day, was on their side. The cats did not run across any soldiers and no one noticed the gap in the fence, at least for now. However the chances of being unnoticed were less and less as the felines padded their way towards the side of the building. Before they could get caught by the cameras, Bucky flung a knife at them, crushing the electronics.   
Liho batted at a vent as the animals reached the bricks. Good, at least now they were stopped.

“Got you now.” Natasha grinned, only to be further disappointed as the vent opened just enough for both cats to slide into.

“I can’t go in there,” The Winter Soldier gestured to his arm and broad shoulders.

Natasha looked around, craning her head upwards, “Think you can reach up there?” 

Following her gaze he saw there was a high window without bars on it, “Yeah, no problem there.”

“I’ll follow the cats. You catch up with us inside.” Shedding her sweater to reveal a black tank top, the Russian assassin-turned-hero shoved herself into the ventilation system. He swore she had to have one of those collapsible skeletons like rat from how easy she made it look.

Now to deal with his situation. Getting to the window wasn’t a problem, but getting in without shattering the glass might be. Turning his head to either side, he checked for guards but a commotion out front with one of the trucks had them otherwise occupied. With barely an effort, he jumped upwards, digging his metal hand into the stone and using that to fling himself upwards. For a moment he froze, listening to see if the sound of crunching stone would alert anyone to his presence, but no one immediately cried out. He dug his boots into the hole made by the metal hand before checking the window. Locked, but that was nothing new. Hitting a button on his arm, a small drill came out of one of his fingers –one of Tony’s improvements to the system made during his brief time with the Avengers.

The drill made short work of the lock, allowing the glass panel to pop out of the frame and the Winter Solider to make his way into the factory. For a moment he paused, standing in the white light cast by the snow outside amongst all the blackness around him as his eyes adjusted. Dust motes whirled in the air, pushed by the new wind he had brought in. Slowly the room took shape. Walls of computers took form. Large tanks of something that smelled volatile and acrid. Cameras glowing everywhere.

With bold steps he walked forward. There was no way they didn’t see him on the cameras by now, so he might was well actually learn what Red Skull was doing out in the middle of nowhere. He was sure that any headache that would be caused by his actions would be forgiven if he brought something valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D.

“Bucky, there’s-“ Natasha began, stepping behind him with two cats looking quite sour in her arms. Her tone was all business, but the concern was there.  
“Bombs,” he finished as the final piece of data went through, “A lot of bombs.”

“They plan on trying to blow up the UN summit. I was able to grab some documents from their files before they got too close for comfort.”

Despite the circumstances he cast a sideways glance at her, admiration gracing his eyes, “All while making sure the cats stayed safe, I see.”

“I came in here with a mission to get the cats. I wasn’t about to lose sight of the primary objective even with the new threat.” She said, a small grin on her face before it melted away, “We can’t let this stand. Millions will die if we do.”

Bucky nodded. He knew what needed to be done, “Start running, Nat.”

“What are you-“ she began, trying to look over his shoulder at the program he was putting into the system.

“Just run. I’ll catch up.” His hands never stopped working, nor did his gaze look at her but his voice sounded concerned. It wasn’t something everyone would notice, but she had worked with him long enough to hear the subtle way that his voice tensed up when he was actually worried about the person.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but broke off with a sigh, “Don’t do anything stupid. I’ll meet you up the hill at the cabin we liked to visit last time we were in town.”

He nodded. She paused, placing a hand on his arm that gently conveyed her worry before she was off, like a shadow racing the sun and time with two cats in her arms. The cabin was little more than a one room stopover that Nat used when running from people, but during the two months they had spent there a few years back they had made it feel more like home. It had been years since he had thought about it, but he knew where he would find it once he got his bearings.

She had barely been gone a few seconds when the loud sound of footsteps sounded in the halls. Shit, no time. A loud explosion from the direction Natasha had come from and the sound of angry shouts. Bless that woman, setting a bomb that bought him enough time to finish. He pressed the execution button and began to run as the door was opened and shots began to fire around him.  
All of his stamina was spent pushing power to his legs. He had no clue what the blast radius for a bomb factory would be realistically, but he sure didn’t want to find out. Loud sirens went off behind him with the harsh crack of guns. Then there was a loud boom and a good deal of heat that he couldn’t look back to see. The force of the blast sent him sprawling, landing on his back in the snow.  
Was he dead? He quiet asked himself. No, not yet at least. There was a loud ringing in his ear.

Natasha was standing over him, with two cats wrapped in her white sweater. A red halo of slightly singed hair surrounded her head as she looked down at his prone form.  
“Fancy meeting you here,” he mumbled, his eyes staring unfocusedly at her face against the white sky. He knew he should move, but everything felt dizzy and heavy now.  
“Figured you couldn’t find the cabin without my help,” She said, bending down and picking him up with a strength that would be unexpected by fools. His feet stumble walked alongside of her, not enough wits about him to come up with a witty comeback or struggle against her help. All he could do was take solace in her strength.

The cabin had changed a bit since he had last been there. There were paintings and a few more blankets along with a bookshelf that was halfway filled and even a small bathroom. They were small details, but they made the place feel less like a halfway house and more like a home. After they had gotten back, Nat had started a fire in the woodburning stove and slowly the shock had worn off as he sat there.

“Here, take this.” Natasha said, handing him a warm mug that was decorated with cartoon snowmen now wearing her sweater sans cats. The two aforementioned mischief makers seemed to be tuckered out by their adventures and had curled up together on the opposite end of the couch.

“Coffee,” he said appreciatively, taking a sip and closing his eyes to appreciate it. His eyes slid open, “Has anyone told you that you are utterly beautiful?”

“All the time, but I never get tired of hearing you say it, James,” She said, sliding next to him close enough to where he could feel her warmth. It was nice, a comforting closeness that neither of them regularly allowed other people to take in.

“You’d think they were the spies with how they found the bomb.” He nodded, taking another sip of coffee and slinging his arm across the back of the couch.

“If they are they’re rookies, got scared the first time that they ran across combat.” Nat said, leaning against him, looking at the two cats, ”Good instincts though.” Scrapes that would heal in an hour stood out on her hands. Cool heroes didn’t look at explosions, but that didn’t mean that explosions didn’t hit them the same way. Blessedly, the technology that had birthed them had gifted them with extraordinary healing. It was one of the few severance packages they had taken away from the experiments.

James Barnes laughed, an unfamiliar gesture to him in recent years but with her it came easily enough when they were in private, “Guess we’ll have to train them more then. Gonna teach Alpine how to fire a rifle next.” 

Natasha laughed, a warm rich sound, “I’m sure Fury will love that.” She paused, both of them realizing that they would need to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. sooner rather than later.   
“We gotta tell them, but let’s make sure that we leave the part out about the cats.” Bucky grimaced, “I do not want to deal with Steve telling me cat stories for the next few years til we get another mission.”

“A reasonable secret.” She conceded, “But we won’t get a chance to tell him for a few days. Can’t have us escape that factory only to get shot by Red Skull as they comb the area. Best bet is to hide here and wait for everything to pass.”

“Guess we’ll have to make the most of the time that we are forced to spend together then,” He responded, a glint in his eye that made Natasha excited for the idea that was behind it.

That night, the cabin felt a lot warmer and this time it was most assuredly not a place Bucky Barnes or Natasha Romanov would ever forget about.


End file.
